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Vita Nuova Essay

Below is an essay on "Vita Nuova" from Anti Essays, your source for research papers, essays, and term paper examples.

Dante Alighieri found love before writing Vita Nuova. However, it is in Vita Nuova that the poems play a significant role in the development of his love for Beatrice. It was at the age of nine, that Dante desired Beatrice. Dante’s reaction to Beatrice’s greeting in chapter III, reflected an unhealthy desire for Beatrice. Dante says, “I was so overcome with ecstasy that I departed from everyone as if intoxicated” (Vita Nuova 6). This obsession led to his illness in chapter IV. In chapter V, Dante pretends to fall in love with two other women called screen ladies to protect Beatrice. However, Beatrice denies her greetings toward Dante because of his association with the screen ladies. As a result, Dante realizes his mistake; his love for Beatrice is because she is worthy to be loved, and not for earthly reasons. A more significant development of his love came after her death. Although stricken by her death, Dante finds a replacement. However, a vision made him realize that Beatrice is his only true love. Finally, Dante envisions Beatrice among the blessed in heaven. His love for Beatrice transitioned from loving Beatrice, an ordinary lady, to loving Beatrice, an angelic woman worthy to be loved.
Midway in his journey, Dante strays from the right path into a dark forest. The dark forest in Inferno I represents the sinful life on Earth. It’s in the dark forest that Dante encounters three beasts: a leopard, lion, and she-wolf. These three beasts are symbols of the three divisions of hell; the leopard symbolizes fraud; the lion symbolizes violence, and the she-wolf represents lust or envy. Dante also meets Virgil. Virgil is the symbol of human reason as he guides Dante. Virgil explains to Dante that he must go through Hell, then Purgatory to reach Paradise. The descent into Hell is symbolic of the recognition of sin. Similarly, Purgatory symbolizes Dante’s atonement and abandonment of sin. Overall, the dark forest is symbolic of sin.
The love connection...